5948 —"מה אני" בלימוד קבלה וחסידות: הקב"ה נתן עצמו בתורה, ובדורותינו מצוה לגלות פנימיות התורה

B"H, 24 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 18 Kislev, the eve of the auspicious day of Yud-Tes Kislev, the Rosh Hashanah for the study of Chassidus and the ways of Chassidus, as our Rebbeim, of blessed memory, have announced^[1]. I hope that you took part in the farbrengen of that day, for it is then a time of favor for inspiration and for making resolutions in matters of Torah and mitzvos, since "on every gathering of ten the Shechinah rests"^[2], and so there is added help at that time.

As for what you write, that when in studying the teachings of Chassidus you reach Kabbalistic terms, the doubt arises in you, "What am I, and what am I", etc.^[3]:

It is obvious that ever since the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "And G‑d descended upon Mount Sinai, etc. And He spoke, etc.: I (Anochi)"^[4], which our Sages explained as an acrostic, "Ana Nafshi Kesavis Yehavis", "I have written and given My very Self"^[5], the meaning being that the Holy One, blessed be He, wrote Himself into His Torah, so that in studying the Torah, whatever the subject, one takes Him, and the same applies to keeping the mitzvos, as stated explicitly in the holy Zohar, cited in the holy Tanya, ch. 47^[6]: not only has the ability been given to set aside the claim "what am I", but one must set it aside. And although in earlier generations the study of the inner dimension of the Torah was a matter for a select few, our generations are not like those, as explained at length in the Alter Rebbe's Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 26^[7], and at still greater length in Kuntres Etz HaChaim by the Rebbe (Rashab), the father of my father-in-law the Rebbe, of blessed memory^[8]. The matter is understood all the more from the parable the Alter Rebbe told the Gaon, Chassid and Tzaddik, etc., R. Pinchas of Koretz (printed in HaTamim)^[9], the parable of the precious stone in the crown of a great king; see there on all the above. I hope that through all this you will add still more in diligence and assiduousness in the study of Chassidus and in following its guidance.

As for what you write, that you steal from your time for this: to this too one may apply the verse, since in "You shall not steal" there is a disjunctive accent under the word "not", for stealing for the Torah is permitted (Zohar, Yisro 93b)^[10].

When you send the names of your sons, together with their mother's name, may they live long, they will be mentioned at the holy resting place^[11] of my father-in-law the Rebbe, of blessed memory, for what they need.

With blessing for good news^[12] in all the above, and for a bright and joyous Chanukah,

In the name of the Rebbe shlita^[13]

Secretary

Added later: Tosefta Bava Kamma 7:3; Shach, Choshen Mishpat 292, s.k. 35; Yalkut Shimoni, Mishlei.^[14]

Notes

1. As our Rebbeim have announced (כהודעת רבותינו נשיאינו): As the Rebbe Rashab writes in his letter quoted in Hayom Yom, 19 Kislev: "This day is the Rosh Hashanah of the words of the living G‑d." זצוקללה"ה נבג"מ זי"ע = זכר צדיקים וקדושים לברכה לחיי העולם הבא, נשמתם בגנזי מרומים, זכותם יגן עלינו.

2. "On every gathering of ten the Shechinah rests" (אכל בי עשרה שכינתא שריא): After Sanhedrin 39a: "In every gathering of ten the Shechinah rests."

3. "What am I, and what am I" (מה אני ומה אני): That is, who am I to occupy myself with Kabbalah and the secrets of the Torah.

4. "And G‑d descended upon Mount Sinai... I" (וירד ה' על הר סיני וגו' וידבר וגו' אנכי): Shemos 19:20: "And G‑d descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain"; Shemos 20:1-2: "And G‑d spoke all these words, saying: I am the L‑rd your G‑d."

5. "I have written and given My very Self" (א'נא נ'פשי כ'תבית י'הבית): Shabbos 105a: "R. Yochanan himself said: Anochi is an acrostic: Ana Nafshi Kesavis Yehavis", "I Myself wrote and gave."

6. The holy Zohar, cited in the holy Tanya, ch. 47 (בזהר הק' הובא בספר תניא קדישא פרק מ"ז): Tanya, ch. 47: "But for us, it is an inheritance and a gift, that He gave us His Torah and clothed in it His will and His wisdom, which are united with His essence and being in perfect unity; and this is as though He gave us His very Self, as it were, as written in the holy Zohar on the verse 'that they take for Me an offering' ['for Me', that is, 'Me']." Hence, since G‑d gave Himself in the Torah to every Jew, there is no room for the claim "what am I".

7. Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 26 (אגרת הקדש לרבנו הזקן סי' כ"ו): In Iggeres HaKodesh 26: "As the Arizal wrote: specifically in these last generations it is permitted, and a mitzvah, to reveal this wisdom, but not in the earlier generations."

8. Kuntres Etz HaChaim (קונטרס עץ החיים): The Rebbe Rashab's (מהורש"ב = מורנו הרב רבי שלום דובער) Kuntres Etz HaChaim explains the obligation to study the inner Torah, the teachings of Chassidus.

9. The parable... to R. Pinchas of Koretz (המשל מרבנו הזקן שאמרו... הר"פ מקאריץ): The king's son fell ill, and his only cure was the precious stone in the king's crown, ground up, mixed with water and dripped into his mouth; and although most of the water would spill, and it was not known whether even a single drop would reach his mouth, the king ordered it done, for his son's life was dearer to him than anything. So the inner Torah, the precious stone of the crown, is revealed to all, to revive the souls in the time of exile. HaTamim is the journal published in 5695–5698 (1935–1938). הרה"ג הרה"ח הרה"צ = הרב הגאון הרב החסיד הרב הצדיק.

10. "You shall not steal" (לא תגנוב): Shemos 20:13: "You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal." The Zohar (II, 93b) notes the disjunctive accent under the word "not", hence there is a stealing that is permitted. Here: one who steals from his time to study Torah commits a "theft for the Torah", which is permitted.

11. The holy resting place (הציון הק'): The holy Ohel, the resting place of the Previous Rebbe.

12. Good news (בשו"ט): בשורות טובות.

13. In the name of the Rebbe (בשם כ"ק אדמו"ר שליט"א): This letter was written by the Rebbe's secretariat, in his name. כ"ק = כבוד קדושת.

14. Added later (לאחר זמן): This line, added to the letter later, gives further sources on the permitted "theft" for the sake of Torah: Tosefta Bava Kamma 7:3, on the kinds of theft, some of which are permitted; Shach, Choshen Mishpat 292, s.k. 35, that one may study from a friend's sefer without his knowledge, since a person is glad for a mitzvah to be done with his property; and Yalkut Shimoni on Mishlei, on "Do not despise a thief when he steals" (Mishlei 6:30), expounded as "stealing" Torah.

Summary

Feeling unworthy before the Kabbalistic terms in Chassidus is no reason to hold back: G‑d "wrote and gave Himself" in the Torah, so whoever studies it takes hold of Him, and in our generations revealing the inner Torah is itself a mitzvah, as the Alter Rebbe's parable of the gem in the king's crown shows. Time "stolen" for this study is a theft the Torah permits.